The Shaw Festival is kicking-off a new annual holiday tradition this year, with what they say is a "fanciful" production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

A release from Shaw said the production will breathe new life into the Festival, featuring 10 ensemble members, along with "whimsical puppetry" and some "exciting stage magic."

“With its charming architecture, horse drawn carriages and the annual Candlelight Stroll, Niagara-on-the-Lake is already Canada’s most picturesque Victorian town,” said Tim Jennings, executive director and chief executive of the Shaw Festival. “It seems only natural that A Christmas Carol be a part of the Niagara-on-the-Lake holiday merriment."

Tim Carroll, artistic director of the Festival, directed A Christmas Carol in Norway last year in Norway and said he's adored the story all his life, staging it twice.

"But I’ve never had the chance to make it happen in such a Dickensian town and theatre,” said Carroll. “It will be my Christmas treat to myself.”

Tickets, which range from $25 to $75, are available through the Shaw's telephone box office at 1-800-511-SHAW and online at shawfest.com.

Set and costumes by Christine Lohre, lighting by Kevin Lamotte, music direction by Paul Sportelli, and movement and puppetry by Alexis Milligan complete the beloved Christmas tale.

Previews start Nov. 15, and the show opens Nov. 25, continuing to Dec. 23, at the Royal George Theatre.